Now all Ugaki had to do was find the planes to rebuild the shattered air wings. If necessary, he could order Ozawa’s two light carriers at Singapore to move to Rabaul, bringing in another 60 planes. To do so he had to cancel a planned supply run to Ceylon, as there would be no carrier covering force, and the British had replenished their losses in the Indian Ocean, restoring their Far East Fleet to three carriers again. As for fighters, there were plenty of Zeroes in theater, but many were assigned to land bases. He wanted those valuable carrier capable planes and pilots reserved for use by the carriers, and got very tough with the Army, demanding they take over responsibility for bases on the front lines.
As a result, 27 Ki-27B “Nate” fighters had already been transferred from a rear area assignment at Kavieng, hopping first to Tulagi, and then on to Efate. 30 Ki-30 “Ann” light level bombers would follow and land at Luganville on Espiritu Santo. They had been at Port Moresby to watch the North Cape area, but sea traffic was very light in that region.
The message Ugaki sent to Admiral Nagano concerned those planes being held in reserve for the new carriers. He wanted the strike wings from ships that could still not enter into immediate operations, and he also asked for permission to utilize any ship in the shadow fleet that was deemed seaworthy at this time. Nagano had been wanting to wait until the Emperor’s birthday in April, delivering the new arrivals as a present, but he replied that the request would be taken under consideration. When Ugaki learned that ships like Kinryu and Ryujin were close to delivery, he was elated, for neither he nor Yamamoto thought they would be ready for at least another six months.
Things were beginning to shape up, until two more bits of bad news arrived. The first was a submarine sighting of two unidentified medium sized carriers training near Midway. They later learned these with the light carriers Independence and Princeton. Then, on the 17th of January, word came in that the American fleet was landing Marines on Efate….
Chapter 17
That night Yamamoto convened a meeting to discuss options. Efate was considered to be the most important island in the French New Hebrides, and it was no wonder that it had been targeted. It was fairly large, 25 miles long and 18 miles wide. The northwest was thickly wooded highland country, with hills peaking at a little over 600 meters. The southeast was a broad and flat plain, cut in half by the thin Teouma River, with plantations, and lighter woodland. It was well suited for much more development if additional airfields were needed.
“What is the defense on that island?” he asked, and Ugaki was ready, knowing this would be one of the first questions the Admiral posed.
“Two battalions of French infantry from their Tonkin Division that transferred from Saigon last year,” he said, “along with a few coastal guns and aviation support crews for the airfield at Vila off Meli Bay.”
“There are no Japanese troops?”
“Not at the moment.”
The Admiral frowned, but he knew where all the Japanese troops were, locked in a death struggle with the Americans on Viti Levu. The Ichiki Regiment had been posted to New Caledonia, and the recently arrived Kawaguchi Detachment had been meant to reinforce that garrison and also provide additional troops for other islands like Efate and Espiritu Santo, but it had just gone to Fiji.
“Not a very satisfactory situation,” said the Admiral. “In this we see the reason the Americans withdrew their better Marine troops from Fiji. Now they tie down our best troops there, while they are free to begin a counteroffensive. Our setback at sea has opened the door for them, but we cannot allow this attack to go unanswered. The question now is what to do if we have no troops available to reinforce that island?”
“Dai-nijū Shidan, has just arrived at Rabaul,” said Imamura, the same man that had been plucked from the sea by the crew of Takami, and now acting as overall commander for Army operations in this theater. The unit he spoke of was the 20th Division under General Shigemasa Aoki, newly arrived from Korea where it had been a back waters garrison division for some time. It was there to begin fleshing out bases seized in Papua New Guinea, and the Solomons. Now it would stand as a good source of reserve ground troops for the entire theater.
“So we have more rice in the bin than I first thought,” said Yamamoto. “Are these troops combat ready?”
“They had limited experience in Manchukuo,” said Imamura, “but a few weeks hard training should get them ready.”
“Limited experience? The Americans will be using some of their toughest troops to make an assault landing like this.”
Imamura shrugged. “Considering that the Navy has been unable to prevent that, the Army will do what it can to correct the… situation.” That skirted very close to the thin line that separated comment from insult, and Imamura had been deft enough to stop himself from using the word ‘error’ at the end.
Yamamoto gave him a long look, the silence carrying the weight of his displeasure, though it would remain unspoken. Both he and Imamura had the enormous burden of ‘face’ to carry for their respective services, where the rivalry was often too hotly pursued.
“Then the Army will make troops available for a counterattack?”
“If necessary,” said Imamura. “And I would select the Ichiki Regiment, replacing it with troops from Dai-nijū Shidan. Then they can use the time on New Caledonia to acclimate to this area and continue training and preparation for combat. As for the American Marines, Kiyonao Ichiki and his troops will be more than a match for anything they send… Assuming our men can be safely landed on the island in question.” The General’s remark again skirted the frontier of insult and accusation, though Yamamoto said nothing.
He knew Imamura’s troops were having some difficulty on Fiji, where they had been unable to protect two of the three key airfields. The Army decried the lack of air support from the Navy; then Ugaki had demanded the Army send its own aviation squadrons, saying it was not the navy’s job to use its carrier trained pilots to defend Army held airfields. Those planes could not be found in time to matter, and the last obsolete A5M that had been at Nandi was shot up and made a forced landing there on the 19th of January.
“General,” said Yamamoto. “May I have your opinion of the overall strategic situation—specifically, the prospects for either taking or holding Viti Levu?”
“It would have been taken long ago, but the enemy was permitted to reinforce it by sea. That is the root of all our difficulties. Now we have been forced to commit far more troops there than we ever anticipated, leaving very little to hold all the other territories occupied last year. If you continue to allow the Americans freedom of movement on the seas around these islands, what can the Army do to save the matter?”
Without addressing the obvious blame in Imamura’s discourse, the Admiral pressed him further. “As a strategist, do you believe it was wise for us to undertake Operation FS?”
“It would have been a near mortal blow if it had been well coordinated and control of the seas had been maintained.”
Ugaki could bear no more, and at the risk of reprimand, he interrupted. “The Navy maintained control of the seas from the moment of the invasion until December of 1942. We defeated the enemy in the Coral Sea, and again in the Koro Sea, though not without cost. In spite of that, we have held the American carriers at bay all this time, yet now they return in much greater strength. And may I also remind you that were it not for the Navy, you would not be here at this moment to offer these opinions.” He folded his arms, a sour expression on his face.